Palin comes out throwing punches

ST. PAUL, Minnesota (CNN) -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin introduced herself to the world Wednesday by calling herself a "hockey mom" and then asking what the difference was between a hockey mom and a pit bull.

"Lipstick," the Republican vice-presidential nominee said.

She promptly went on to prove the point, tearing into Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama as two-faced, inexperienced and intoxicated by the sound of his own voice.

"This is a man who can give an entire speech about the wars America is fighting and never use the word 'victory' except when he's talking about his own campaign," she said.

She slammed Obama for "saying one thing in Scranton and another in San Francisco," argued that he had written two memoirs but never authored a major piece of legislation and asked what he would do "when those Styrofoam Greek columns are hauled back to some studio lot," a reference to the stage where Obama gave his acceptance speech last week. Watch Palin attack Obama »

Thousands of delegates at the party conference roared their approval at Palin's speech, bursting into chants of "Sarah! Sarah!" and "Zero! Zero," the amount of executive experience Republicans say Obama has accumulated.

"I think Sarah Palin can do a one-two punch better than Muhammad Ali," Kansas state senator Karin Brownlee said after the speech. "And I think she delivered it just square on the opponents' face. I think she has energized the Republican Party like we haven't seen in a long time." Report card: Rate Palin's speech »

Jose Rodriquez-Suarez, a delegate from Puerto Rico, said simply, "It's about the best speech I have heard at any convention." See photos of Palin take the stage »

Conventioneers waved banners reading "Palin Power" and "Hockey moms for Palin." Delegates from her home state of Alaska were spotted wearing buttons calling her "the hottest VP from the coolest state."

"I love those hockey moms," she said.

Palin began with a lengthy, minutes-long standing ovation as she accepted the Republican Party's nomination for vice president. It marked the first time in history that a woman has taken the stage as the GOP vice president pick.

"I accept the challenge of a tough fight," said the woman nicknamed "Sarah Barracuda."

The Obama campaign dismissed Palin's speech as "well-delivered" but said it was "written by George Bush's speechwriter and sounds exactly like the same divisive, partisan attacks we've heard from George Bush for the last eight years." iReport.com: Share your reaction to the convention speeches

Bush aide Matthew Scully was largely responsible for the speech.

Palin, whose son is to deploy to Iraq soon, praised her running mate John McCain as a man who has met grave challenges and "knows how tough fights are won." She criticized Obama's stance on Iraq, saying he "wants to forfeit" while victory is "finally in sight." Watch Palin say McCain has fought for change his entire life »

"It's easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform, not even in the state Senate," she said.

She praised McCain, a decorated war hero, as a "true profile in courage."

"In politics, there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers. And then there are those, like John McCain, who use their careers to promote change," she said.

Throughout the speech, it was clear the first-term governor of Alaska had won over the hearts of the crowd.

"What exactly is our opponent's plan? What does he actually seek to accomplish after he's done turning back the waters and healing the planet? The answer is to make the government bigger and take more of your money."

Palin, the former mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, contrasted her résumé as a former mayor of a small town with that of Obama. "I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a 'community organizer,' except that you have actual responsibilities."

Palin presented herself as both a mother and as an outside-the-Beltway reformer in the McCain mold, saying she "took on the old politics as usual in Juneau" and "stood up to the special interests, the lobbyists, big oil companies, and the good ol' boys network."

She tied oil, a major industry in her home state of Alaska, to foreign policy and national security on a night when convention delegates repeatedly burst into chants of "Drill now, baby, drill now!"

She insisted that the United States seek "energy independence," including through more drilling, in the face of threats as diverse as hurricanes in the Gulf and Russian military power in the Caucasus.

And Palin dismissed criticism about her that have appeared in the press. "Here's a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I'm not going to Washington to seek their good opinion. I'm going to Washington to serve the people of this country." CNN's political team analyzes Palin's speech »

Palin, whose youngest child has Down syndrome, also promised that families of special needs children will have "a friend and advocate in the White House."

At the end of the speech, McCain came on stage amid raucous cheers and said, "Don't you think we made the right choice for the next vice president of the United States?" Watch McCain take stage, get crowd fired up »

Just before Palin took center stage, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani warmed up the crowd by continuing the barrage on Obama, calling him a "celebrity senator" with no leadership experience.

"He's never had to lead people in crisis," Giuliani said. "This is not a personal attack; it's a statement of fact. Barack Obama has never led anything. Nothing. Nada."

"The choice in this election comes down to substance over style. John McCain has been tested. Barack Obama has not. Tough times require strong leadership, and this is no time for on-the-job training."

His speech was the third of the evening by former GOP presidential candidates who pumped up the Republican faithful ahead of Palin.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee got the crowd cheering when he ripped Obama for looking to Europe for ways to change America.

"Barack Obama's excellent adventure to Europe took his campaign for change to hundreds of thousands of people who don't even vote or pay taxes here," he said.

"The fact is, most Americans don't want more government; they want a lot less."

Huckabee said McCain represents small government and has ideas for change that will make the nation's economy better. He added that McCain is "a man with the character and stubborn kind of integrity that I want in a president."

Huckabee took a jab at the "elite media" for "unifying the Republican Party and all of America" in support of McCain and Palin, a first-term governor of Alaska.

"The reporting of the past few days has proven tackier than a costume change at a Madonna concert," Huckabee said.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney blasted "liberal Washington," saying McCain is a "prescription for every American who wants change in Washington."

He added that it's time to take a "Weedwacker" to excessive regulation and to impose lower taxes and to stop big-government spending.

"Throw out the big-government liberals and elect John McCain," Romney said. "We need change, all right: change from a liberal Washington to a conservative Washington."

He also threw his support behind Palin, saying the McCain-Palin ticket "will keep America as it has always been: the hope of the world."

"We will never allow America to retreat in the face of evil extremism," Romney said.

The Republican Party officially nominated McCain for president at the convention Wednesday. McCain will give a speech accepting the nomination on Thursday night.

Police said two protesters were removed during Palin's speech. They said they were members of the anti-war group Code Pink. A spokesperson for the Joint Information Center said the two women were escorted by law enforcement officers from the Xcel Center for heckling.

They stood and yelled off to the side of the podium during Palin's speech. They were not charged and have been "sent on their way," this spokesperson said.

From CNN.com.

With the selection of Sarah Palin McCain's campaign has fully adopted the Karl Rove play book. If you listen to her rhetoric it is straight out of the speeches of Bush. If you examine the McCain campaign's image shift over the last 4 to 6 months it moves from the maverick, conservative- independent, reformer to showcasing social conservative, religious evangelical, fear mongering.

I was supportive of Obama, of course, but was considering a third party (as usual) since I believe the Dems and Reps are more often than not opposite sides of the same coin. But Palin makes me think that I might volunteer for the Obama campaign. I might even spend a week campaigning in VA since it is one state that Obama might win. I just can in no way tolerate the idea of another radical conservative sitting in office, even as VP (and her selection certainly shows McCain's willingness to bend to the radical right). She supports prayer in school and creationism as a topic for discussion in science class; she attempted to ban books from a public library because the were "morally offensive"; she wants to remove polar bears from the endangered species list so that it is easier for oil companies to drill in certain areas of Alaska, and she does not believe that climate change is related to human actions (the jury is still out?).

This is good strategy for McCain because he can only win if he rallies the base. But he has given up all of his maverick status by lying down with the religious radical in the GOP. Maverick my ass. I liked him better when he referred to the religious radicals as agents of intolerance rather than getting in bed with them.